Lucy and Lila Livin' Life

Christmas Family Fun and Traditions

2012-01-26T21:02:00.000-06:00

So the tree is gone and all the decorations are put back into storage, and I've finally gone through our many, many pictures. Christmas this year was so much fun and full of great memories. We also continued on with the many traditions of past Christmases and even established some new ones. These include: matching pajamas for the kids, the Silent Night calendar book for the girls, the nativity re-enactment (Lucy said that Mom should be King Herod!), and many others. We all had a truly blessed time and even managed to feel somewhat relaxed as well. Happy new year!

December Fun

2011-12-21T16:04:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving and December always seem to fly. This year Kim and I made a concerted effort to keep things as slow as possible and enjoy our time with the girls. This included fun with family and our new nephew Leo, cooking projects, taking Lucy to see the Nutcracker, and doing the Santa Trolley excursion run by the Oak Park park district. With all the possible activities there are plenty to choose from, and we made some great memories.

Halloween Clown Family

2011-11-23T15:08:00.001-06:00

Here's our Halloween pictures. I really don't need to say much, other than Lila's hair was the inspiration for the whole thing. We had a ton of fun trick-or-treating with friends and family, and Lila and Lucy even enjoyed some candy as well.

I think in this one Lila is doing her usual "I eat it?" I heard this over 100 times that day at every house and she would hold it up to me and say: "I eat it?" "No Lila, put it in your bucket for later."

Pumpkin Farms Galore!

2011-11-23T15:04:00.000-06:00

So as Pumpkin Season comes to an end, here are some pictures of our wild October. I am convinced that there is an inheritable fall gene which both Kim and Lucy have - they both love fall activities, decorations, and pumpkin farms. We'll see about Lila but she was a good sport.

Here we are at Goebbert's where Lucy met a giraffe up close. Maybe too personal...

Me and my girls. I need to get more orange clothing. Kim does such a great job with their festive fall fashions.

Bird with her new cousin Leo. She has lately become obsessed with babies. No wonder why.

Doing a pumpkin painting craft out front. Lucy does a great job smiling for the cameras now.

Pumpkin Soup

2011-10-31T10:58:00.000-05:00

This is one of Lucy's favorite fall season books. Apparently the repetition paid off. Here's a video of her reading it all by herself. Happy Halloween!

Lila Turns 2!

2011-09-16T14:02:00.001-05:00

Last month Lila celebrated her second birthday. It's hard to believe that it's been two years since she was born (see here for first Lila blog entry: http://lucyvg.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html). Lila wanted a "piggy cake" for her birthday and Lucy loved helping to make it. Lila is talking up a storm mostly to get what she wants. These include "I do it", "a cow", "sippy, please", "guys, guys, guys!", and "a snack." We love her so much and had a great time focusing on her for her big day.

Summer Fun

2011-08-30T14:34:00.001-05:00

Wow, another jam-packed summer full of fun activities. As it comes to a close, Kim and I recalled all the places we went a people we saw. They included: blueberry picking, trips to beaches and cottages, camping in Michigan, visits from friends, and sits by the local pool. Lila is growing up to be a vivacious young girl, and Lucy continues to grow into becoming a loving and serving sister and daughter. Kim and I are so blessed to have such wonderful girls and to be by so many good friends and family.

Happy Birthday Lucy!

2011-07-20T16:07:00.000-05:00

In July we celebrated Lucy's 4th birthday. As part of this we had a celebration with Kim's family in Wisconsin which included another trip to Beach Bay amusement park, trips to the beach, and of course another one of Kim's beautiful cake creations. This year Lucy said she wanted a "Hello Kitty" cake and that she wanted to "smash it". In contrast to earlier birthdays, "smashing" really meant just taking a little bit directly out of the cake without using a fork. So apparently at four you grow out of the whole mess-making phase and now become concerned with being clean.

Last week we had a joint celebration in Chicago with our friends where we celebrated Lucy and Lila's birthday with their friends. We did this a Cosley Zoo in Wheaton and had a great turnout from our friends and family. We all had a great time and the girls had so much fun with their friends and the animals.

Catching Up....

2011-07-10T22:15:00.002-05:00

Well, my apologies for neglecting the blog since Easter. It certainly isn't for lack of photographic moments. Most of our days are full of fun, family, and friends. Here's a quick rundown and a smattering of pictures to go along with it:
1. Mother's Day - a great church service and a picnic in the park by the tulips.
2. Lila bird growing into her own as a goofball and fearless explorer. I think at least once a day we refer to her as a "nut".
3. Family excursions to botanical gardens among many, many other places
4. Two trips to the cottage in Kewaunee with Milo and company. Included trips to Beach Bay kiddie amusement park in Green Bay. As a Bears fan I don't like much about Green Bay, but rides for 25-cents is amazing.
5. Kewaunee also included a trip to a dairy farm, making S'Mores on the grill, trips to the beach, and Grammy's fun painting art projects.
6. Kim and I celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary at a spa in Kohler, WI.
7. BBQs with friends and concerts at Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.
8. A wonderful father's day with paintings from my girls and a princess dance party at a Oak Park concert.
9. Lucy continues to grow up too fast and is a kind and loving sister and daughter. Her zest and zeal for life is contagious, and I love her curiosity of the world around her.

Next up - Lucy's birthday celebrations (yes, there were more than one...).

He Is Risen!

2011-04-29T13:59:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter to all of you. Our Easter weekend was filled with fun, candy, and worship. In all, we had 4 different Easter egg hunts put on by various neighbors, family, and park districts. Lila's favorite phrase all weekend (which she muttered over 100 times) was "open it", referring to any plastic egg she just found which would contain candy or toys. Lucy and Lila loved running around in their dresses and we had a wonderful family meal hosted by Kim's parents. Thanks to Kristin and Eric for some great pictures as well.

Happy Birthday Mama and Titi

2011-04-22T20:54:00.001-05:00

So yesterday was Kim's birthday and so I was working on teaching Lila how to sing happy birthday. There wasn't much success, but Kim captured this today:

A few notes of translation: Lila is currently obsessed with her aunt Titi and uncle Kunkle. For some reason she thinks it's both Mama and Titi's birthday - hence "mama-titi". Also, she always wants to watch the video while we're filming ("I see, I see"). I hope you all enjoy this as much as Kim and I did.

They Grow Up So Fast!

2011-03-30T15:51:00.001-05:00

Our Little Lila Bird is not so little anymore. My prediction is that she'll be a mountain goat biologist since all she cares about is animals and climbing.

Her vocabulary expands faster than we can even document. Compared to Lucy she is a bit slower to use words and sentences but is very good at communication in her own way. Also, the words she can use are pronounced with excellent diction. These include: "Mil-KKK", "Sippee", "Applesauce", "Peeez (please)", and my favorite "Now". That last one usually gets added in to most sentences, as in "Sippee now peeez".

She loves animals of all kinds - she shows little interest in cartoons but put on a nature show and she is captivated. She also loves jewelry - she almost always has something around her neck or wrist as decor.

Climbing is another (and annoying) pastime. She loves to go vertical. Chairs, tables, stools, ect. Most furniture is at some point tested as a ladder. This love of climbing also involves her getting stuck, falling, and much more attention from us.

It is also fun to see how Lucy and her have become friends. Lucy is most times quite kind and sharing with Lila, and it pleases us greatly as parents to watch Lucy be a great example to her younger sister.

Valentines and St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-23T16:05:00.000-05:00

Our Valentines' and St. Paddy's days came and went with some fun activities. On Valentines' day, Kim had some friends over for treats, Lucy exchanged valentines at school on which she had, for the first time, signed her name on every one. At night, Lucy put on her bathing suit (a usual occurrence in our household) and made whoopee pies with Kim.

I think the swimsuit signifies that Lucy is officially done with Winter. She says she can't wait to go swimming when the snow melts. Here she is with a pie she made.

Lila, of course, loved the pies. One of our many endearing nicknames for her is "our goat" since she eats just about anything.

For St. Patrick's day Kim and the girls went to see Irish dancers at a local pub. The girls loved it and Lucy was able to get up on stage and join them.

Chula Vista, WI

2011-03-18T15:24:00.000-05:00

A few weeks back Kim's parents hosted us at a water park in the Wisconsin Dells for a fun few nights. This place had a giant indoor water park with slides, a lazy river, and fun for all ages (including us adults). We and the girls had a absolute blast. After every ride down a slide (by herself or on my lap), Lucy's response was always "I want to do it again!!"

Lila was braver than we expected. By the last day she was pushing away our hands, climbing the small stairs and going down the slide herself, only to be caught at the bottom and go up again.

Here is Bird and I goofing off as usual. Is she my clone or what?

Lucy taking a break with her cool robe from Grammy. Licorice was in about every picture. Kim and I try to limit sweets but on fun excursions the girls love it.

Bird ready to go back to the pool.

Lucy and her cousin Milo all set to go. Lucy loved her goggles from Titi and Kunkle. Thanks to Grammy and Puppy for a memorable time!

Mexico in January

2011-02-26T22:06:00.000-06:00

Last month Kim and I traveled down to Playa del Carmen in Mexico. Kim's parents had rented a place down there for the month and we were excited to join them in the fun for part of the time. Some of Kim's family from Minnesota were also there and we enjoyed hanging out with them as well. It was a good mix of adventure and relaxation, and the weather sure beat Chicago's during January.

At Xcaret Eco-Park with Kim's Parents. This was a cool park with Mayan Ruins, shows, a nice beach and many exotic animals.

Having dessert in Playa del Carmen. There were many neat stores...some with humorous signs.

Snorkeling by our condo. This area was an inlet with a fresh water spring and the brackish water contained some really neat species of fish.


Petting a sting ray.

Special thanks to all those who made it possible by watching Lucy and Lila. That includes Doug and Susie VG, Kristin and Eric, and Mary. Not to forget those who watched dogs and pet fish as well.

Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-16T20:32:00.000-06:00

Well, we made it through the "Great Blizzard" just fine with some stress and some funny stories. Mostly from when we lost power and heat for the night and next morning of the blizzard. That made for a dark, quiet, and cold night but kudos to the power company for braving the elements to get it working the next morning. We were all a bit amazed by the amount of snow and the drifts.

Here we took the girls on a sledding ride to gaze in wonder at the piles of snow.

Of course, we all became a bit stir crazy after a while and the girls had a blast being goofy and playing. Here we caught Lila Bird after she found Kim's lipstick.

Can you say....?

2011-02-15T16:16:00.000-06:00

Sorry it's been a while with the blog posts; there are a number in the works. For now, here's a video of little Lila bird with some of her new words.

Minnesota Trip

2011-01-17T20:34:00.000-06:00

After Christmas we took the girls to Minnesota to visit with Kim's family. We all stayed with her cousin Gina who was a wonderful host. All the cousins were there and the kids had a blast as well. After our party we spent some time with Kim's friend Jenna before flying home. It was a great and memorable time.

Kim and her sister Kristin also enjoyed a thrilling snowmobile ride.

All the cousins together with Grandpa Irv

Lucy loved the plane ride.

Christmas Nativity

2011-01-10T21:52:00.000-06:00

Kim's Mom had a wonderful idea to put together a nativity for the family on Christmas Eve. Like any Pederson event, we went all out and had a blast! Kim's Mom made costumes for all the kids. Milo was a Shepherd, Lila was an Angel, and Lucy was Mary. There was even a script to follow. It was a ton of fun and a meaningful moment for all of us.

For some of us our "costume" really meant "bathrobe in pajamas with a napkin on top," but who's critiquing?

The next day the kids made gingerbread projects. Here's the result...

Lila Bird didn't quite get why we play with food and not eat it. It all tasted so good.

Christmas Part 1

2011-01-04T20:44:00.000-06:00

We had a fantastic Christmas celebration with family, fun, and festivities. We started Christmas Eve at our own place doing crafts and fun projects with Lucy and Lila and opening some presents. From there we went to church and worshiped with Kim's parents and sister's family (Kristin, Eric, and Milo). From there we took the short drive to Kim's parents place, with more fun with the kids. Once the kids were down for the night the six of us (Steve, Kathy, Kristin, Eric, Kim and I) exchanged gifts and kind words.
Kim's family has a great tradition of the "gift of words" where we take time to affirm those we love.

After a wonderful Christmas day breakfast, we all headed to Kristin and Eric's for a wonderful holiday dinner. It truly was a memorable holiday, although we missed being with my family in Washington.

Lucy and Milo loved their new horns. It's amazing sometimes how the most simple gift can be so much fun.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2010-12-24T09:09:00.000-06:00

Festive Holiday Fun

2010-12-23T21:07:00.001-06:00

Kim does a great job of packing in tons of Holiday fun during the month of December. Many memories are in our own home and involve being cozy and goofing off. There are special holiday ornaments, cooking and art projects, Christmas-themed pajamas, visits with Santa (both girls are still very afraid). My favorite this year is Lucy's "Silent Night" advent book, where every night we read it and open another little window on the cover. She is so excited to finish it and to welcome Christmas day and the birth of our Savior. The first picture below is of the girls Christmas ornaments that we got at the Christkindlmarket downtown. Every year we get them an ornament that has significance for that year. Lucy received ballet shoes since she recently developed a passion for this activity and Lila's was a bird as her nickname remains "Birdie."

Baby Daria

2010-12-17T06:02:00.001-06:00

One of the real treats of our Thanksgiving weekend was seeing my new niece Daria Vander Griend. Not only is she adorable and beautiful, but Lucy was enthralled and a big helper. We are so excited for my brother and his family for their new addition and honored they would brave the roads to come and spend Thanksgiving with us.

Still Not a Fan of Santa

2010-12-15T06:22:00.001-06:00

We recently went on an excursion to downtown Chicago and timed our return trip to catch the special CTA Holiday Train. I'm not sure what it is about Santa but both girls were terrified of him. These pictures tell it all. Thanks to Mary for the pictures.

Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays!

Thanksgiving Day Parade

2010-12-14T19:26:00.000-06:00

While the Turkey was in the oven, we took the train downtown to the Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade. This kids had fun with all the dancers, animals, firetrucks, and giant blow-up characters. We then headed home to a wonderful feast with 10 adults and 6 kids. It was a very memorable day.

Ice Skating George

2010-12-10T06:46:00.000-06:00

Last year Lucy expressed interest in learning how to ice skate. Thus we did what most parents do and signed her up for lessons at our local park district. It didn't quite go as planned - she was much more tentative on the ice than we anticipated. However, we discovered that she was much more brave wearing her Curious George Halloween costume on the ice as it was padded and warm. Now she goes as George to all her lessons, and she is loving it. It's nice when solutions are this simple.

When They're Quiet for Too Long

2010-12-07T11:53:00.000-06:00

All parents of young kids know that feeling: "my kid has been too quiet for too long." Here Kim caught Lucy playing doctor on her "sore" leg.

Halloween

2010-11-15T15:54:00.000-06:00

Our Halloween was filled with numerous fun activities. There were farmers' markets, parades, family get-togethers with yummy chili, and of course candy. This year I talked Lucy into being a monkey so that she and I could go as Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat. Lila bird was a little pig, and Kim was Super Mommy. Kim is always a super mommy so in reality she just dressed as a super hero with a blond wig.

Here's the little one's around a huge pumpkin at the farmer's market. Milo was the most excited fireman I've ever seen.

The whole fam trick-or-treating.

My Curious George. The yellow costume said "one size fits most" - I'm a bit bigger than "most."

Kristin and Eric and Family even made a firetruck for Milo. He received many comments throughout the day.

More Pumpkin Farms...

2010-11-05T06:30:00.002-05:00

One of our favorite farms is County Line Orchards in Indiana. It has the whole package - apple picking, pumpkins, donuts, cider, and plenty of fun for the kids. It was also fun that we had my nephews Lucas and Asher for the weekend.

Here is the gang. We met our neighbors the Dauphinees and their two daughters as well.

Some of the best apples where those that no one could reach. Asher was willing to help.

On the Hayride to the apple picking.

They even had a cornucopia for pictures.

My adorable little pumpkin.

Prostate Cancer Run

2010-11-01T06:30:00.001-05:00

An important date in our Fall calendar was the SEA Blue Prostate Cancer 5K Run. Given that Kim's dad is a survivor and I have a particular interest in prostate cancer research, we decided there was no better motivation to get running and get in shape. We were all amazed at the generosity of our friends and family who donated on our behalf - between the three of use we raised $1580. These funds will go towards Chicago organizations to help those men struggling with prostate cancer, the effects of treatment, as well as increased early detection screening.

We saw a number of families with T-shirts "in memory of" and were tremendously grateful to God for how he has guided and blessed our family through Steve's diagnosis and treatment. Praise God he is cancer free!

Thanks for all who supported!

Fall is Here!

2010-10-27T21:43:00.000-05:00

Now that Summer is over, our family takes a 200% dive into fall and specifically pumpkin farms. Kim seems to get so much joy about dolling the girls up in orange and black and soaking in the fall. The leaves changing, pumpkins, donuts, apples, cider, gourds - you name it - we're into it. Here is one visit to a favorite farm, Goebbert's near Kim's parents house. This one even included an exotic petting zoo. Titi (Kristin) and Milo participated as well.

Nice to see Lila finally getting some hair...

Can't Move on From Summer Just Yet

2010-10-13T13:10:00.001-05:00

I admit it's hard to move into fall after such a fun summer. My last entry (I promise) is of all our good times at the local Oak Park pools. By the end of the summer Lucy was brave enough to swim on her own and loved playing; Lila of course loved to splash as well. We also enjoyed spending time on a hot day with our family, including "P" and "M" Pederson, Kristin and Eric and the lovable Milo.

So Long, Summer!

2010-10-08T15:43:00.000-05:00

As Fall is upon us and before we get to all the entries about Pumpkin Farms and Thanksgiving feasts, I wanted to look back on our Summer and say "good-bye" to many great memories. Lucy, Lila, Kim and I had a wonderful summer and look forward to the next one. There were days at the pool, birthday parties, a trip out west, many wonderful visitors, outdoor musical events, and fun excursions. Ciao, Summer!

Happy Birthday like a Fish

2010-10-03T00:27:00.001-05:00

Bird's Birthday

2010-09-30T12:32:00.000-05:00

There's alot of catching up to do since we had such a fun filled yet busy summer. The most important topic is Lila's birthday celebrations (there were many). Appropriately, Kim made Lila a Big Bird cake, I think her best cake yet. As usual, Lila was all smiles.

It's amazing how fast kids grow up. It seemed like yesterday when we were getting ready for her to be born. We love you, our sweet little Bird!

PNW Part 4: Hat Island

2010-09-28T15:47:00.000-05:00

The last part of our trip was spent at my Sister and Brother-in-law's place on Hat Island. Hat is located among the Orcas Islands and was a beautiful location to end our wonderful trip.

We had to take a sailboat ride out there, and here is Kim and Bird in her little life vest.

Steve used the leftover salmon parts as crab bait, and the crab sure loved that. We ate fresh crab all weekend (I'm allergic but Kim said it was wonderful).

The view from their deck.

Walking along the beach with Susie and Grandpa.

Here is my sister Leslie with Lucas and Lila.

Grandma reading Lucy a book before bedtime.

My cousin Josh and my sister Leslie on the sailboat.


Doug, Lucas, Asher, and Susie on the boat. What a pretty family!

PNW Part 3: Hiking and Boating

2010-09-14T15:27:00.002-05:00

Another fun aspect of our trip to Washington was the hiking and boating experiences. We don't get to do much of either in Chicago, so we and the kids greatly enjoyed them.

Here we hiked around Winthrop with the kids in our back-packs.

Here we had Lila bird on Steve and Leslie's Sailboat. As always she was having a blast.

My cousin Josh and my sister Leslie also enjoying the sailboat ride.

Here are most of us before one of our hikes.

On our way back from Winthrop Washington we stopped to do a beautiful hike up into the Cascade mountains to discover this gorgeous lake nestled way up in the mountains. I didn't make it as I sprained my ankle on the way up, but fortunately Kim took some stunning pictures.

I was impressed by how well all the younger kids did on the hike. They were real troopers and enjoyed it too.

PNW Part 2: Winthrop Washington

2010-09-05T16:00:00.002-05:00

For the second part of our trip we headed through the Cascades to Winthrop WA, which is this little western-style town with great views, lakes and hiking. We had the whole family there (10 adults and 10 kids) so it was organized chaos. My sister Jody and my Mom did a great job of planning, and my brother-in-law Trevor had the family boat for skiing and tubing. At night when the kids were all in bed we enjoyed some really meaningful adult time as well, mostly celebrating my parents' 50 years of marriage.

The Whole Family

All the Kids - ages 1 to 16.

Here's Lucy ready for the Water

The girls were a bit nervous on the boat. Lucy even tried joining me on the tube (she was very brave but not a fan).

Kim on the hammock with many of the cousins. Lucy had a blast spending time with all of them.

My Dad and Mom did a great job of spending some good 1-on-1 time with each of the kids. Here my Dad is helping my nephew Lucas fish.

Lucas and Simone were enamored with Lila bird.

Lila and her Daddy having fun at the beach.

Lucas and Lila again. This was a common occurrence.

Me with the kids goofing off on the lake. They are all a great bunch of sweet kids.

PNW Part 1: Fishing on Vancouver Island

2010-08-31T14:39:00.000-05:00

The girls and I recently went on a trip to the Pacific Northwest to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary. Lucy was so excited about her trip to Washington.

The first part was a mens fishing trip to Vancouver Island for some salmon fishing. My Dad took all us younger dads for a two day trip which was incredibly fun and meaningful. We also caught a ton of fish as the conditions were near perfect.

Watching the humpback whales swim by as we fished.

An average sized fish. We estimated catching about 150lbs that day.

At one point we had three fish on at once. We got these two in.

My brother Doug displaying our catch.

We stopped along our drive to enjoy Vancouver Island.

Hanging out and hiking the night before

This one took my Dad a while - it was almost 20 minutes before he got that fish in.

Our Lila is One!!

2010-08-22T09:00:00.002-05:00

We can not believe that our little girl is already one year old! Her middle name is so fitting--she really is a joy, an absolute delight and we are so thankful to be her parents. Lila is observant, smiley, kind, sweet, determined, loving, and bright. She is a joy to parent, a joy to be around, and the joy of our days! Happy birthday little Bird!

Here is Lila with her buddy James!

Blueberry Picking

2010-08-11T21:10:00.000-05:00

We went blueberry picking last month with our friends Emily and Eric Runyan and their daughter, Eleanor. It was hotter than blazes but so much fun. The funny thing is that Lucy was more interested in filling up her "blueberry" cup with water at the pump and Eleanor was VERY into picking, but refused to eat ANY blueberries! After picking we went to the New Buffalo, MI beach on Lake Michigan. The girls were tired, we were tired, but the ice cream at the end of the day helped us to push through. We tuckered out Lucy so much that she even slept in the car (which she NEVER does) on the way home!

Lucy and Lila's Birthday Bash

2010-08-06T13:07:00.000-05:00

We recently threw a joint birthday party for Lucy and Lila at the Randall Oaks Petting Zoo. After much planning and preparation, the weather didn't seem to want to cooperate. In fact, there was so much rain the night before and that morning that many of the major highways were shut down due to flooding. Fortunately, the weather suddenly cleared up and became absolutely perfect. It's also a testament to how great all our friends are since everybody endured the tenuous commute to get there (many leaving behind flooded basements).

Lucy was excited to see her cousins Lucas and Asher who bravely drove in from Grand Rapids, MI to attend. Asher and Lucy are so cute together.

The Randall Oaks location was great since there was a petting zoo with many neat animals, playgrounds, and we provided a bouncy house as well.

Here is Lila Bird with her aunt Kristin. This was before she tried the birthday cake. She was significantly more messy after that since she practically inhaled the cake as fast as she could.

Thanks again to all who came and celebrated our two little girls. We felt so blessed to have so many family and friends to share our joy with.

40 Years!!!

2010-07-22T13:17:00.000-05:00

A few weeks back we celebrated my parents 40th wedding anniversary at a local Chicago restaurant. It was truly a joyful and blessed evening commemorating such a wonderful occasion. My parents are and inspiration to all of us and we had so much fun together.

Aren't they still so adorable after 40 years?

They are a model for all of us and it touched Don and I to think of our two little girls

growing up and celebrating our 40th anniversary someday.

Milo's Turns 2 (well last month)

2010-07-19T22:07:00.002-05:00

So I am very late in blogging about Milo's birthday last month. His 2nd b-day party was a blast! We had pizza at Moretti's and then went back to Kristin and Eric's for dessert. My sister and I made a train cake for Milo.

What a goof ball!

Dino and Mary

So on the day of Milo's actual birthday we spent the entire day together. Lucy wore her party dress and practiced singing "Happy Birthday" the whole week leading up to his b-day.

We went back to Kristin and Eric's so that Milo could open his presents. I love this picture because it reflects the cousins to a tee--Lucy is rockin out with gusto, Lila is smiling like a little Bird, and Milo is all intent on the task at hand.

We spent the day at Legoland which was a lot of fun. Although there was this one Lego lion whose roar scared the little birthday guy half to death

Of course I had to bring my little buddy some cupcakes for lunch.

For dinner we went to Superdawg for a Chi-town type of celebration. Milo was a big fan of his hot dog and fries!

4th of July

2010-07-17T18:30:00.000-05:00

It's always fun to celebrate the 4th of July in Kewaunee! Here Lucy is watching the fireworks with her Daddy. Thank goodness that Grammy and Puppy remembered the ear plugs which helped her to not be so scared of the loud noise.

We went out to breakfast at our favorite local joint. Here Lila is saying, "Hooray for Bacon!"

Our little stars and stripes girls!

Her favorite place to be is in the swing.

The bird and her Kunkel

Birthday Weekend Activities

2010-07-15T17:27:00.000-05:00

For Lucy's birthday we went to a kiddie amusement park in Green Bay. Can you believe the rides were only 25 cents each and no admission fee to the park? Seriously this park was so cute that we definitely want to make this a family tradition. Lucy and Milo rode tons of rides--Milo's favorite was the train and Lucy loved the helicopter. She rode it 4 times!!

The carousel even had a little donkey just Lila's size.

I told Don it was blasphemous to put Lila on a Packer's horse, but there was no Chicago Bears horse in sight--figures!

Of course Lucy had to take her birthday wand

My Grandpa, Aunt Nancy, Mom and Dad. It meant a lot to Don and I that my Grandpa and Aunt drove all the way from Minnesota to spend Lucy's birthday weekend with us.

After a fun filled day at the amusement park we took an evening stroll down by the beach.

Enjoying the view!

Payton loves running through the waves!

Another day we enjoyed Kewaunee's annual shrimp dump!

Lila is crawling all over the place!!

Lila has started to pull herself up this past month-what a big girl!

Lucy is rockin the new headband and tulle skirt she got for her b-day.

Lucy's Turned 3!!!

2010-07-13T17:21:00.000-05:00

We went to Kewaunee for our annual tradition of celebrating Lucy's birthday there. We had such a blast! My Grandpa and Aunt Nancy joined us for the celebration. We had Lucy's favorite meals, played in the inflatable pool, went to a kiddie amusement park (pictures of that to follow) and I made a Count (from Sesame Street) cake. Lucy has been talking for weeks about wanting a Count cake. When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted she responded without hesitation, "the Count." Little did I know at the time that the Count cake pan has not been made since 1977, so I had to buy a collector's edition pan off E-bay. But she was insistent that that was the cake she wanted and I figured she should be able to call the shots on her b-day!

How many 3 year old girls request a Count cake, I mean really?

Lucy waited so patiently to be able to touch her cake and was so excited when she could finally do so.

Taking a spin on the new radio flyer scooter from Grammy and Puppy

Three generation photo

Daddy's little girl! Lucy loved wearing her princess dress for her party. She was dancing all over the room with Milo while opening her presents. In fact she was more into the dancing then the present opening. Don wore his "I Love Lucy" shirt for the occasion.

The morning of her birthday we surprised Lucy by bringing her a present right after she woke up. In this picture she is opening up a tee ball set from Grandma and Grandpa VG. She loves playing with her tee ball set and has already gotten pretty good at her swing.

Before her b-day Don and I and the girls went to the party store to pick out some items for celebration. She wanted a "special" Dora birthday cup to drink out of and a birthday necklace.

It took me longer than expected to finish her Count cake so we postponed her cake for a day and put a candle in our dessert one evening. She was thrilled to blow out her candle twice.

Giggle Girl

2010-07-02T15:06:00.000-05:00

Everything makes this girl laugh. What a joy!

Gymnastics Medal Ceremony

2010-06-29T11:24:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Lucy completed her first session of gymnastics. She loved participating in the medal ceremony and still proudly wears her medal around the house. She had so fun that we signed her up for the summer gymnastics sessions as well.

She is holding up her medal saying, "Look what I got mom!"

Ta-da

She always wants to wear either a tutu or legwarmers to gymnastics class. She is all girl!

Her favorite part of class is when it is foam pit time! She has to wait all the way until the end of class before she can go in the foam pit and she eagerly anticipates it every time.

The above picture shows about how Lucy felt about returning to school for a six week program this summer! I think she was saying, "Hooray!" as I took the picture!

Summer is Here!!!

2010-06-27T10:52:00.000-05:00

I feel like we have already had a jammed packed summer. I am currently looking to go back to work part time in a few months so I am really trying to take advantage of my summer home full time with the girls. We have had lots of play dates, fun at the pool, outings to the zoo and others places, and good times at the park. The great thing about living in the Chicago area is there are endless things to do with your kids, which is great for me since we all know how I like to keep busy!

The kids are taking a break from swimming to eat some watermelon.

Lucy with her good buddies Cole, Olivia, and Patrick at the zoo. She just loves playing with her friends and her mom likes hanging out with the their mommies!

Milo just LOVES his little Lila Bird.

Is there anything cuter than little kids taking a walk together while holding hands?

Lucy and Olivia after they applied "make-up" at the local Children' Museum.

Lucy "helping" with a cooking project

We had a picnic at the summer festival at Rehm Park. Lucy was thrilled that she got to have a Sponge Bob Square Pants popsicle.

Lucy is trying so hard to make the train move.

One day I took the girls to the Naperville Riverwalk since we had never been there and it was a perfect day to check out a new area. Lucy loved playing in the fountains and Lila enjoyed being pushed in the swing at a new playground.

The Bird Loves to Swing

2010-06-25T10:48:00.000-05:00

Visit with VG's

2010-06-23T10:38:00.001-05:00

Last month we met up with Don's parents in Grand Rapids. Don's mom was in town for her 50th college reunion from Calvin. We also love hanging out with Doug and Susie and their kids. On Saturday we went to dinner and had ice cream cones. And on Sunday we enjoyed a beach day in Grand Haven. The weather was glorious and there was a kite festival. The kite festival had all these incredible animal shaped kites and others as well. They were doing this performance where the kites were choreographed with music. It was so fun to just be outside with family and take in one of the first days of summer.

Aren't the cousins so cute together?

Grandpa VG did a great of helping Lucy to feel more comfortable on the sand. Lucy still has a hard time with the sand and can't stand it when it gets in her sandals! The kites were so amazing and Lucy was really excited when we approached the beach (after a 45 minute hike) and she saw the kites flying in the sky.

The fam!

Sooo Big!

2010-06-15T13:21:00.000-05:00

I was feeding Lila bird and she started to show off her new skills. No words yet but plenty of noise.

Memorial Day in Kewaunee

2010-06-05T10:23:00.002-05:00

Our Memorial Day at my parent's cottage in Kewaunee, Wisconsin was so much fun. The weather was incredible and we enjoyed going biking, kayaking, and BBQing. My parents bought outdoor toys and a big inflatable pool for the kids to swim in. The kids were in heaven and it was an exciting way to welcome in the summer months.

Some updates on Lila at 9 months: she waves, says "ba-ba-ba," she is ALMOST crawling and often launches herself at any item in sight. She can pull herself up into a seated position when lying down. And she is in the beginning stages of pulling herself up to standing. She is extremely busy and is very observant. She now has these little outbursts of laughter, usually in response to something Lucy does. She has her two bottom teeth (see below) and she is just getting her two upper teeth.

Doesn't Lila look adorable sportin' her sun hat and sunglasses? For those of you that believe Lila never smiles see picture below. I will admit it is hard to find of picture of her not smiling.

One afternoon my sister, Eric, my dad and I went kayaking on the Kewaunee River while Don stayed back and watched the kids. Nothing like drinking a few beers on a river on a beautiful afternoon!

One beautiful afternoon we took the kids on a bike ride through a National Forest in Door County. It was absolutely perfect weather and the bike ride was so picturesque. We put the kids in attached bike trailers. Lila got her own little comfy ride and of course Milo and Lucy had to ride together. Halfway through the ride we stopped at the beach for some snacks and for some fun in the sun (code for Lucy was complaining the whole time about the sand on her feet).

Best Buddies!

All of us chipped in and bought a bouncy house for the kids for birthday parties and family events this summer. It was a huge hit and was a great way for the kids to burn off some of their energy.

Lila's Dedication

2010-05-27T22:33:00.000-05:00

A few Sunday's ago we dedicated Lila at our Church. A dedication is a bit different than a baptism in that we as parents, family, and friends, publicly commit to raising Lila to become a follower of Christ and that someday she will chose to become baptized.

Many members of our family were in town for the event. My sister Leslie and brother-in-law Steve came in from Seattle and my brother Doug and his wife Susie came with their kids Lucas and Asher from Grand Rapids. Kim's family was also there as well. It was very moving to be up in front of church and see so much of our family present in support.

Kim and company put together a wonderful spread of food for the after-party. Thanks to all who helped and contributed!

We also had many friends come by to celebrate and pass the little Lila bird around.

A typical smile for Lila - she brings us so much joy and it was fun to give her all our focus for her big day.

Lucy's Last Day of School Performance

2010-05-24T21:46:00.000-05:00

Lucy has officially completed her last day of preschool! Last Thursday she participated in an end of the year performance and ceremony where she received a certificate. We had a moment when we arrived at the performance because it was the first time we had seen her name printed in a program. When it came time for her to dance in the circle she did so with total abandon and utter glee! And she did a great job of showcasing her somersault skills! Our little girl is growing up!

Lucy and her creative movement teacher Larry.

Lucy and her friend Natalie.

Lucy and her friend and our neighbor Amanda.

In the picture below they were supposed to be marching in place and doing hand motions to the song, "The Ants Go Marching." The funny thing is that Lucy had been talking about practicing this number for weeks and has been doing it at home on a daily basis. Of course when it came time for the performance she was a little awe-struck and was more of an observer than performer!

Lucy had a big turn out at the performance. Grammy, Puppy, Mommy, Daddy, Titi and Milo all came to see her! Titi even had Milo miss his nap so he could see his cousin dance, stomp, and do somersaults. Lucy was so excited to see her family in attendance! She had a huge smile on her face when she walked in.

Proud mama!

We went out for ice cream to celebrate the completion of her first year of pre-school!

Mother's Day

2010-05-13T23:53:00.000-05:00

Thanks to my amazing husband, my Mother's Day weekend was truly special and VERY relaxing. On Saturday we went to brunch and then to the Garfield Park Conservatory, which are where the pictures below are from. We really enjoyed looking at the Spring flower room and took some shots among the flowers once we found out it was the last day of the exhibit. On Sunday we went to church and then the boys made us lunch and served us drinks all day long. It was great to just hang out outside with the fam and relax and have no "to do" lists. I could use a Mother's Day every month!!

Fab Three plus two babies

2010-05-11T20:02:00.001-05:00

So recently my friends from college, Jenna and Priscilla, came in town for a visit! We haven't had a girls' weekend in four years so it was overdue for sure. But this time it was also a play date for Lila and Phoebe who are two months apart in age. Phoebe is my friend Jenna's baby and it is so fun that we have kids so close in age (she has has a daughter, Jillian, who is like 10 days younger than Lucy). Priscilla, Jenna, and I had a great time just catching up, going out to dinner, taking a long walk, and doing a little shopping. Glad that we finally made the girls weekend happen!

Having a little tummy time together!

Phoebe is the biggest thumb suckers and I am totally obsessed with how adorable she looks sucking her thumb!

This is us walking around by the Frank Lloyd Wright homes in downtown Oak Park.

Out for martinis

We had a great dinner at Cafe De Luca in Forest Park.

Picnic in the Park

2010-05-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

One day while in Baltimore the girls and I met up with Erika and her two kids (Sophia and Graham) and Michelle and her two sons (Ryan and Brendan). Michelle, Erika and I were all pregnant at the same time and would often commiserate about our pregnancy woes. In fact all three of us delivered within about 6 weeks of one another. When I left Baltimore we were all in our third trimester and now when we reunited we have these little bambinos that are growing so fast! It was so fun to be able to introduce the babies to one another! We realized that we met five new babies during our time in Baltimore. How crazy is that that 5 of our friends have had kids since we moved out of the area?

How cute together are Lucy, Sophia and Ryan?

Sophia, Graham, Me and Lila. I am so bummed that we didn't get a picture of Michelle with us--she was taking the picture.

Lila is in that fun stage right now where she just stays in one place. She enjoys sitting up, but has made no attempts at crawling, which is just fine with me. It is great to be able to plop her down on a picnic blanket and let her play. I don't know what I am going to do when I have to chase two kids around!

What a smile!

Bald Buddies!

Graham looks like he is trying to engage in a conversation with Brendan.

Pure Joy!

Meeting Graham and Naomi

2010-05-02T00:05:00.003-05:00

One of the main reasons we went back to Baltimore was to meet all the new babies that have been born. We were so excited to meet Craig and Laurie's first son, Graham, who was 5 weeks old. And we also met 6 month old, Naomi, who is Greg and Thu's first daughter. Here is a group shot of the kiddos (minus Lucy who was hanging out with Maria at the time).

Baby Graham is so alert for his age. He has the most beautiful eyes and can you believe he is already smiling? I am not surprised that the kid is advanced!

Lila and Naomi are only a couple months apart in age. Don is doing a pretty good job handling two infants.

Greg with Naomi sleeping on his lap--he looks awfully comfortable as a dad!

When you have a five week old baby the big cup of coffee is key to getting through the day!

It was so incredible to see the guys all holding their babies together. Don has been friends with Craig since college and with Greg since high school. So it was a real full circle moment to see them all with their little infants.How cool that their babies are all so close in age.

The wife shot-Thu with Naomi, Lila and I, and Laurie and Graham

Below is a random picture of Lila on the plane all ready for her big trip!

Back to Baltimore

2010-04-28T23:40:00.000-05:00

We recently went back to Baltimore to visit with our old friends . It was great to catch up with people and meet new babies! We have lots of pictures so stay tuned for multiple Baltimore posts. The first night after we arrived we got a babysitter and went to dinner with our wonderful friends, Katie and Chris. We had awesome martini's and then dinner. It was an awesome night! Thanks to Katie and Chris for letting us stay at their house.

One of the highlights of being back in Baltimore was that I could catch up on good conversation with my dear friend, Katie.

Nothing like a night out without the kids!

Katie and Chris at dinner

Another night Sundai, Meredith, Katie, and I went to Saute in Canton for Girls Night Out. We had a nice dinner, good wine and great conversation. It is such a good group of ladies, it made me miss hanging out with them.

Aren't they lovely ladies? Can you believe in this picture Meredith is due with twins in 10 weeks?

We just had to take a wagon ride with Lucy and Maria since we loved doing that when we lived in Baltimore. Although this time they were more interested in getting out and walking rather than being pulled.

Lucy and her dear friend

Do you think Lucy missed your buddy just a little bit?

We had such a great time re-connecting with our old neighbors/friends. We took a walk with the kids to Rita's for some custard. Lucy totally remembered her old playmates, which was really fun to see. The gang pictured below is Meredith and Asher, Sundai with Robbie and baby Maggie, me with Lucy and Lila, and Katie and Maria. Oh how I miss our friends!

Lucy and Asher are checkin each other out!

Lucy, Maria, Robbie, and Asher-little buddies back together again!

Justin Roberts Concert

2010-04-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

Last month we took the kids to their first real concert at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Justin Roberts is a children's musician who is a local Chicago artist. His music is awesome for both adults and kids and I love that it is not gimmicky and is "real" music. In the beginning of the concert they announced that it was going to be a loud show and that we could buy ear plugs. Right away I was concerned about Lucy who tends to get apprehensive around loud noises. So I told her let me know if you need something for your ears. So as soon as the concert started she kept yelling I need "something for my ears mama!" So we got some ear plugs and then after she warmed up she was dancing in front of the stage with the other kids. Below is a picture of Lila and I at brunch before the concert. What a great day we had!

Lucy was so excited to be at her first concert, she kept holding onto her tickets and waving them around!

After Lucy got her ear plugs and warmed up a little she was happy as a clam!

I thought it was cute that Justin Robert's band is called "The Not Ready to Naptime Players"

This is how Lila enjoyed the concert! Can you believe she actually napped for some of the time?

Easter Sunday

2010-04-11T23:33:00.000-05:00

We had a lovely Easter with my family. We went to church, decorated Easter eggs, opened Easter baskets, and had an Easter egg hunt. My dad and mom made an amazing Easter dinner. Lila was the star of the show in her new Easter dress. Here she is with Grammy.

Can you believe that this is actually the best shot we got of all the cousins? It isn't even a good picture and it took forever to get it. But don't they look adorable in their little Easter outfits?

Lila's first Easter! She is finally starting to grow some hair!

My parents planned an Easter egg hunt for Milo and Lucy (and Lila was happy to watch). Milo was amazing at finding all the eggs! Lucy didn't find that many eggs, but she somehow managed to find this random hat somewhere at my parent's house.

Don planned an egg decorating activity and he spent all this time setting out all the supplies and then of course the kids weren't even into it. So Don ended up decorating the eggs on his own, but I think at least he had fun with it!

Lila with her first Easter basket! She was actually really into pulling things out of it and loved holding onto the handle and swinging the basket around.

Daddy and his girls before church!

Family shot outside church. I can't believe that everyone was actually looking at the camera!

"The Word of God"

2010-04-05T11:30:00.000-05:00

Lucy has been truly influenced by attending Sunday School. Lately, she ends every song with "the Word of God." Even Frosty and Jingle Bells get modified. Here we finally caught some on film for you - she was singing for us at the dinner table while we celebrated Easter.

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-02T23:15:00.001-05:00

Last weekend our neighbors, Jill and Matt, organized an Easter egg hunt for the kids in the neighborhood. The kids basically just ran around a grassy area looking for eggs that Matt had strategically placed seconds before. Lucy had a blast and was very excited to find that there were treats hidden inside the eggs!!

Key Lime Cove Water Park

2010-03-31T16:48:00.000-05:00

A few weekends ago we all went to an indoor water park for an overnight excursion. The kids were able to play in the park, and after they were down all the adults could go on the bigger slides and relax a bit. It was so much fun we think it should become a yearly tradition.

Here is Lucy helping us with our ice cream sundae (this was shared between all of us).

Lucy was so excited to go to the park that she was acting like such a goofball in the car. Here was her new "style" for the trip there.

When the slides got old, we hung out on the lazy river and enjoyed some cuddling time.

Grammy and Puppy supplied the new, and cute, robes for Milo and Lucy. They loved them and looked adorable together.

Typical joyful Lila. Like her sister she loves the water too.

Parades and more Parades

2010-03-24T23:39:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed two different St. Patrick's Day parades. Lucy referred to them as the "loud" parade and the "soft" parade. She wasn't a fan of the more boisterous Forest Park parade, although she loved the suckers that they were handing out. She also was a fan of the beads and the funny hats. It was such a thrill for her to see people dressed up in funny clothes in all different shades of green! She kept saying, "Look Mom I see more green!" The soft parade was the Northwest Chicago parade and was held in Norwood Park where Kristin and Eric live. It was great to be able to be right in Kristin and Eric's community. Next year we are going to do the downtown Chicago parade as long as Lucy isn't too afraid of it being "too loud."

Lila was so tuckered out after all the parades that this is how she ended the day in her car seat!!

St. Paddy's Day!!

2010-03-22T00:23:00.001-05:00

On St. Paddy's Day we took the girls out to an Irish Pub for some corned beef and beer (the beer was for us not the girls). It was an absolutely gorgeous day in Chicago so we enjoyed sitting outside while eating. It totally made us excited for the spring to finally be here so that we can do more outdoor activities. After dinner we went to an ice skating show at the local park district. Lucy loved watching the little kids perform and both her and Lila were totally engrossed in the performance. We were hoping to inspire Lucy to want to take ice skating lessons next winter!

Megan's Birthday Party

2010-03-11T23:58:00.000-06:00

So this first picture is just a random picture of little 6 1/2 month Lila. She seriously spends most of her days with this total and utter look of glee on her face. She is always smiling (just like her dad) and she just LOVES life. I can't even tell you how much it warms my heart to see her all out smile--maybe in part because it reminds me so much of my wonderful hubby!

A couple of weeks ago our neighbor, Megan had her 2nd b-day. Lucy loved her b-day party, the cupcakes, jumping on the trampoline, and the festivities were a big hit with her. Below Lucy is pictured with Megan's sister, Natalie, who goes to school with Lucy. Aren't they so cute together? In this picture Lucy looks so grown up to me, where did my little baby go?

Enjoying a cupcake in her pj's. The beauty of hanging out with neighbors is that you can go over to their house in pj's (well at the least the kids can).

The birthday girl and Lucy jumping on the trampoline!!

Valentine's Day Fun

2010-02-26T00:44:00.000-06:00

We had a lot of fun celebrating Valentine's Day this year! Lucy did water color painting, made Valentine's, decorated cookies, made cupcakes for her friends, opened presents and had a little pizza party. Lila pretty much just smiled the whole day which is pretty much how she spends most days. She did open her mail though as you can see from below.

Decorating cookies

Lucy posing with one of the Valentine's she made as her "art project." Pretty funny that she is wearing her Santa pj's for Valentine's Day. She is having a little trouble with Christmas being over and done with. She still asks me where the Christmas tree went!

Lucy displaying the cookies she decorated and Valentine's she made for her family.

Lila "reading" her new bath book she got for V-day!

Lucy making cupcakes for her friends and a cake for Grammy who was unable to join us. How appropriate that she wore her cupcake pj's while baking the treats.

Don and I were able to go out to a nice dinner together to celebrate V-day. I can't take any of the credit, Don planned everything including the babysitting! There are so few pictures of just Don and I on the blog, so I thought I would post one of our date night.

So on the Friday before Valentine's Day I took the girls to a little party at the local recreation center. There were lots of great toys for Lucy to play with and there was even a little play area for Lila. The open gym times are great for entertaining the kids during the long winter months.

It wouldn't be a party without a tutu!!

Silly Coo-ers

2010-02-18T05:29:00.000-06:00

Lila is on track to be more of a noise maker than her sister Lucy (if you can imagine that). Here I finally caught her on tape conversing with me.

Lucy ism's

2010-02-16T17:25:00.001-06:00

Lucy's Latest Quotes (Courtesy of her Dad):
1. So remember...
2. I got it, though.
3. Sure!!
4. No, I can't. I'm nursing my bear.
5. No daddy, I'm not listening. (My least favorite)
6. Excuse me, I'd like to say something!
7. I love my Daddy. He's my best friend. (My favorite)
8. Mama, you and I, we have so much fun together.

Not a Very Good Idea to Feed Lila in the Bumbo

2010-02-10T22:27:00.001-06:00

First time Ice Skating

2010-02-08T16:03:00.000-06:00

Baby Showers

2010-02-05T14:51:00.001-06:00

I have enjoyed celebrating with my friends Cindy and Laurie at their respective baby showers. Cindy's sisters threw her a lovely shower and it was so fun to be able to anticipate and welcome new baby Gray to the world (coming March 2009). Below is Cindy with Lila at the shower.

Our high school friends. I can't believe we have known each other for 18 years-boy does that make me feel old!!

Lila had a soft spot for Megan!

Kathy and Lila

Above is Laurie and I at her shower in Michigan. Over New Years I was able to celebrate with Laurie at a shower thrown by Craig's aunt. We are so sad that we now live far away from our dear Baltimore friends, so I was ecstatic to be able to partake in her shower celebration. Laurie and Craig are also due in March and we can't wait for the little bambino to arrive.

We had to do a belly shot!

Visit to Grand Rapids

2010-02-02T14:50:00.000-06:00

We had such a fun time in Grand Rapids over New Year's. Our friends, Steve and Bek, invited our whole family to their house to hang out. We had fun going out to dinner and to a party (without kids!) on New Year's Eve. It was also great to spend time with their three boys who played really nicely with Lucy. We are so glad to be back near our Grand Rapids friends and family!!

Lila taking a bath in their sink!!

One day during our trip we met up with my college roommate, Erin, and her family at the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. It was SO fun to see her! We haven't seen each other in almost nine years. She lives in New York and happened to be in Grand Rapids the same time we were in town. It was great to meet her three kids! It felt like old times and made me so sad that we don't live near each other.

Erin and her daughter Hannah.

Lila's 5 Months

2010-01-27T00:19:00.000-06:00

The past 5 months have just flown by! Lila is so much bigger than Lucy was at this age. She is either smiling bigger than you have ever seen or screaming louder than you can imagine. She is a deep feeler. She is rarely upset, but boy when she is watch out! It is so funny that even at this young age we can already see such a difference in her's and Lucy's personality. She seems to not only look like Don, but she may even share some of his personality traits. Lila is an observer. She is more observant and perhaps intuitive. It is so fun to speculate about what kind of a person she will develop into. She has a smile that lights up a room (just like her Dad)! We continue to call her bird because when she was a baby she was so dainty she reminded us of a bird. Now that she is no longer dainty we call her "buddha bird" or our newest "love bird" or really any variation on bird. She doesn't sleep at night nearly as well as her sister did. But then we knew it was pretty rare for a 6 week old to sleep 12 hours at night. She loves to see her mama and daddy's faces and lately little Lucy has been getting the biggest smiles. We are so thankful for the past 5 months and can't image our lives with out our "little Don" (aka little bird, aka Lila Joy). Below she is pictured with my friend, Chi's son James who is only a couple weeks younger than Lila.

Now what do you want to say about that smile??

Thanks to Cathie for the cute top and to Katie for the adorable Uggs!

Visiting Santa and Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier

2010-01-18T23:40:00.000-06:00

So I am totally behind and still blogging about Christmas activities. Maybe I am just in denial that Christmas is over. I would like to say that this is the last holiday post, but probably in February I will be all caught up! So a couple days before Christmas we headed down to Navy Pier to go the the Winter Wonderfest which had all these fun rides and activities. After one train, one bus, and walking for like 30 minutes all the way to the end of Navy Pier we finally made it and boy was it worth it. Lucy went on a carousel, a mini ferris wheel (it only had 7 seats on it), moon bounces, and a train ride. It was beautifully decorated. They even had an indoor ice skating rink!

The tree was absolutely magnificent!!

This is as close to Santa as Lucy was willing to get. Notice that Lucy is screaming in fear while Lila is calming just chillin' on Santa's lap. Initially Lucy had said she wasn't scared of Santa anymore but then after she got on the podium and started approaching him, she was definitely not into it at all. But she did like Santa's little elf and even posed for a shot next to him. By the way, anyone else have a problem with the fact that Santa looks about 12 years old?

Look at that little doll face!!

Let it Snow!

2010-01-05T23:58:00.001-06:00

We went sledding on Christmas Eve morning in our pajamas! I will spare you the shot of me in my pj's. But I will post one of Don in his! Doesn't he look stylin' in his reindeer jammies?

The day after Christmas we had a big snow storm. Everyone enjoyed playing in the snow, even our dog Payton!

Merry Christmas!

2010-01-03T23:55:00.002-06:00

This is the first Christmas in 8 years that Don and I haven't traveled. We REALLY missed being with Don's family, but it sure was nice to not have to travel with two young kids. Being at home for Christmas gave us an opportunity to try and make our own family traditions. We went sledding, saw a light display, made homemade pizza, watched Christmas vacation, painted wrapping paper, and finally decorated that gingerbread house we never got around to in previous years. One of the most surprising things was that Lucy was completing disinterested in opening gifts, which was kind of disappointing. But Lila enjoyed it! Lila's first Christmas was very special and memorable indeed!

Lucy is working on her art project which is painting the wrapping paper for her gifts to her family. Don came up with this idea as a fun way of instilling in her the importance of giving as well as receiving gifts.

Here Lucy is singing "Oh Christmas tree" to our Christmas tree. She loves to talk to the Christmas tree and sing it songs. It has become her little friend. I am dreading taking down the tree because she is going to miss it so. Every morning when she wakes up she continues to say, "Good morning my Christmas tree!"

Making pizzas for lunch on Christmas Eve

Family photo at church on Christmas Eve

For a new Christmas tradition, we decided to have a birthday party for Jesus. Milo loved mixing up the cupcakes for Jesus' birthday party!

This was the best shot we could manage of Lucy in her Christmas dress! She wouldn't stop being a "ballerina" long enough to sit still for a picture!

Again the best shot we could get of the cousins. Little Lila was the only one who would cooperate with the photo taking!

What a wonderful Christmas we had as a family of four!! It was filled with new traditions and lots of memories!

Bears Game-they actually won!

2009-12-29T00:09:00.000-06:00

Several weekends ago we went with Mary and Dino to see the Bears play the Rams. The Bears surprisingly won the game! We had so much fun tailgating-there is nothing liking drinking beer and eating brats at 9:00 AM. We even found one Rams fan there all decked out in his mullet, so we had to pose for a picture with him. Despite this horrific Bears season we managed to have a great time!

Below you can see our handmade "bean bags" for the corn hole game. The looked a little questionable to say the least.

Cookie Exchanges

2009-12-22T21:00:00.000-06:00

Part of the fun of the holidays has to be all the cookie exchanges! We went to one at Kristin's house which was really fun. Kristin and Eric made a nice lunch and had great drinks and of course Mandy and Mary made the best cookies (Kristin too).

Two weekends ago I went to Melissa's house for a cookie exchange with some friends. The girls have been doing this for several years in a row now, but since I have been in Baltimore I haven't been able to participate. I was happy to be a part of the annual tradition and can't wait for next years.

Mary came dressed to impressed in her fancy Christmas sweater!!

Cindy has the cutes pregnancy bump!

Megan, James (Chi's son), and Mary

How Many Christmas Cookies Can One LIttle Girl Make?

2009-12-22T00:34:00.000-06:00

Christkindlmarket and the Christmas El

2009-12-19T12:43:00.006-06:00

Don has been so excited to show the kids the Christmas El. Essentially it the regular El train that is decked out in Christmas decorations. So we timed a trip downtown so we could take the El. Don was so nervous that we were going to miss it since the Christmas El only stops in Oak Park 4 days out of the season. But we made it, although I think it was more fun for us then the kids. After the Christmas El we went to the Christkindlmarket downtown at the Daley Center. We picked out the girls' yearly ornaments and had some glug and pretzels. It was fun to see all the German hand crafted items and to pose for pictures by the Daley Center Christmas tree. Lila pretty much slept the whole time all bundled up in the Bjorn. She did open her eyes a little bit to check out the Christmas El!

When the Christmas El arrived we were so excited to see it all lite up. There was even a Santa on it, which is how we discovered that Lucy is still terrified of Santa. Here we were trying to plan a fun family memory and Lucy is screaming her head off, "santa it too scary to me!"

Baking with Toddlers

2009-12-17T12:09:00.005-06:00

So last weekend we made cookies with the Runyans. Baking with toddlers sure is an adventure. Eric pretty much did all the work because he was the only one who could focus on the task at hand with all the activity going on. Lucy enjoyed frosting the cookies, or I should say eating the frosting. Eleanor was scared of the loud mixer and only wanted to decorate the cookies if she could sit in the booster seat far away from all the noise. It was a fun memory!

Lucy's nest

2009-12-15T12:07:00.000-06:00

Lucy is at such a fun age for Christmas this year. She has really gotten into decorating, cookie making, and singing Jingle Bells and Silent Night. One funny thing is that she is very focused on dismantling my sugarplum centerpiece. I couldn't figure out where all the sugarplums went that are supposed to be arranged around a candle centerpiece. Then I looked in the tree and saw her nest (see picture below). She methodically and meticulously placed each sugar plum so it wouldn't fall off the branches. When I asked her what she was doing she said, "I am putting ornaments in my Christmas tree." I think we will leave her little nest up!

Decorating the Christmas Trees!!

2009-12-09T14:16:00.001-06:00

I always LOVE when it is time to put up the Christmas tree! This year we had decorating parties at both my house and Kristin's house. Lucy really got into it this year. In fact she has been totally fascinated by the Christmas tree and keeps singing songs to the Christmas tree all day long! For example, "A, B, C, D, Christmas Tree, E, F, G, Christmas tree..." She calls it "her Christmas tree!" It is so fun that she can actually get into the whole Christmas experience this year! We are so glad to be near family so that we can experience these simple moments together, like tree decorating.

Lila was so tuckered out after all the decorating, so she took a little snooze on Grammy and Uncle Eric.

We also had a little decorating party at Kristin and Eric's new house. Lucy really got into the decorating and loved hanging ornaments on the tree. Poor little Lila, she pooped through her outfit and Uncle Eric dressed her in this crazy get up of Milo's. Doesn't she look traumatized? Thanks for the shorts in the middle of winter Eric!

Our first Thanksgiving in Oak Park

2009-12-06T14:02:00.001-06:00

Don and I hosted Thanksgiving again this year. I always enjoy hosting, particularly when people bring things! We had a nice dinner with my family and Don's parents. We did miss having Thanksgiving dinner with Doug (Don's brother) and Susie who are in Italy. But hopefully we can do it with them next year. And hopefully Mom and Dad VG will make it an annual tradition to travel out to the Midwest for Thanksgiving!

Can you say "chunker?"

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa VG

2009-12-03T23:00:00.000-06:00

Last week Don's parents came to visit us from the Pacific Northwest. They were able to meet Lila for the first time and joined us for our Thanksgiving celebration. We had a wonderful visit with Don's parents! We made many special memories and had great bonding experiences. One of the highlights of the trip for me was that Mom Vander Griend surprised us with a quilt she made for Lucy. I had no idea she was even making one. It is truly a work of art and Lucy has already taken to tucking in her baby doll and bear with it. What a thoughtful and lovely gift that is sure to become a family heirloom!

We took a trip down to the Navy Pier Children's Museum. It was a long, fun filled day. The museum was awesome and Lucy had a blast running around, sitting in the fire truck, playing with the dolls and dish sets. Afterwards we had to get a little Garrett's carmel popcorn since it is a Chicago tradition after all. We stopped to look at the Macy's window displays. In my opinion, Marshall Fields did a much better job of the seasonal window displays, but it was still fun to look.

In the above picture, Lucy and Grandpa were bonding on the train ride downtown. Lucy was pointing out everything she saw out of the window to Grandpa. She has been talking about her train ride with Grandpa since they left. It is amazing how little kids can get a thrill from something as simple as looking out the window of a train! The pictures below are at the Walnut Room at Macy's. We enjoyed a nice lunch there and took pictures by the big tree in the center of the restaurant. I had never been there before and didn't realize that part of the tradition was to dress your kids up in their Christmas outfits. So next year I am going to come prepared!!

Three Month Talkers

2009-11-22T22:58:00.001-06:00

Today is Lila's three month birthday. Wow how time has flown! Lila is an absolute delight. She is much more serious and intense than Lucy was at this age. She is also quite observant and really likes to people watch. She is such a little sweetie and just lights up our days. She not only looks a lot like her father, but she also has more of his temperament. We continue to call her "little Don" because she reminds us so much of Don. I can't believe how well she fits into our family after only three short months. I feel so blessed to be her mom. What an incredible gift she is to us! As you can see from the video, she has really begun to coo up a storm. In fact when she has face to face time with us she just lights up and loves to make little noises.

This is a picture of her taken tonight where she is modeling the hat her Titi gave her for her three month birthday!

Lucy Feeding a Giraffe

2009-11-02T11:41:00.000-06:00

Goebbert's Part 2

2009-10-31T16:16:00.000-05:00

So I have been going to Goebbert's for years yet I never knew that there was the petting zoo of dreams there. I guess now that we have kids we are more inclined to do the whole zoo thing, so we decided to check it out. This zoo was like no ordinary petting zoo, the animals there were so exotic. There were bengal tigers, ostriches, animals I can't pronounce, crazy hybrid animals and zebras and giraffes that you could pet and feed. It was amazing to see Lucy actually feed a giraffe. I have never had that experience before and it was truly remarkable.

She is awfully close to the giraffe's mouth!

Such a little girl for such a big corn maze

Isn't this tree just glorious?

Lucy went on a pony ride with Puppy at the beginning of the summer and the ponies' name was Auggie. Well now every time she goes on a pony ride she calls the pony, Auggie. Since that first pony ride she can't stop talking about Auggie. In fact, she has recently named her froggie blankie, Auggie, as well.

Goebbert's Part 1

2009-10-29T16:35:00.001-05:00

You might remember in my Fall Buzz Kill blog entry that the last time we went to Goebbert's it was raining and miserable out. So I decided to take the girls again since I didn't want our Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm memory to be one of cold and rain. So I picked one of the most beautiful, crisp fall days and we met my family there for some fun! Of course I had to take advantage of the opportunity to get lots of shots of the kids and pumpkins.

Zoo Boo and Dino Nites

2009-10-27T15:51:00.000-05:00

Two weekends ago we went to the Halloween celebration at the Brookfield Zoo. The zoo was decorated for Halloween which is always fun. The kids were able to wear their costumes and prance around for some photo opps. Also at night they had this dinosaur exhibit which they put cool lights on and had fog all around. Milo was a sad excuse for a dinosaur because he was so terrified that Kristin and Eric had to leave, poor little guy.

It wouldn't be a trip to the zoo if we didn't ride the carousel.

Kamden the little dragon!

The cutest dinosaur to ever walk the earth!

Just to clarify Lucy's costume is not a flower, as she puts it she is a "flower garden."

Lila the little ladybug

Fall Frolic

2009-10-26T15:42:00.002-05:00

Last weekend Mary hosted a Fall Frolic with a bunch of my friends from high school. One of the best parts about moving back to the Chicago area has been being able to re-connect on a more regular basis with old friends. She had chili and cornbread and lots of yummy goodies. I think we should make this an annual event (as long as I don't have to host :) Don and I were able to enjoy a night out without the girls in tow, which was nice.

Painting Pumpkins

2009-10-24T14:43:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we went to the Humboldt Park pumpkin patch event which was entirely free. It was raining out so everything was indoors, but it was still a lot of fun despite the weather. The kids were able to pick out a pumpkin, get their face painted, play table games, get candy and popcorn, and go on the giant moon bounce slide.

Lucy got her face painted for the first time ever. She matched the cat on her shirt!

Lucy loved going down the moon bounce slide with Uncle Eric.

Sorry little Lila this is the best shot I got of you all day!

After we left the park district pumpkin patch we went back to Emily and Eric's to have a little pumpkin decorating party. They had pizza, Halloween cookies and cupcakes and then the kids painted their pumpkins. It was so much fun to watch. Lucy really got into it! Ella was very meticulous while creating her design.

Lucy with her masterpiece, which is now proudly displayed outside our front door.